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News from Bellerbys Brighton
Former Brighton Student Awarded a First Class Honours Degree in Natural Science at Cambridge
We're delighted to receive news from the Principal of Newham College, Dame Patricia Hobson, that a former Bellerbys student has been awarded a first class Honours degree in Natural Science by the University of Cambridge.
Quynh Trang To, from Vietnam, studied A Levels at Bellerbys Brighton, achieving A grades in all of her subjects - Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths, before taking up her place at Cambridge.
In her letter to the Bellerbys Principal, Nigel Addison, Dame Hobson wrote that 'this sort of achievement reflects not just work at Cambridge but years of work beforehand'.
Many congratulations to Ms To on this outstanding achievement.
Find out about studying A Levels at Bellerbys
Bellerbys Brighton Foundation Awards Day 2009
In June each year we bid a fond farewell to our Foundation students. A ceremony is held during their final weeks in college and all students are presented with leaving certificates by the Principal. The event is a great occasion, celebrating all the students' success throughout the year. A few students are also singled out for particular recognition and presented with a special award for their achievements during the year. This year the Principal handed out the following awards:
Miras Ibraimov from Kazakhstan - Best Overall Contribution to the Foundation Programme
Dmitry Aksenov from Russia - Best Foundation Student
Wing Ki Wong (Vivian) from Hong Kong - Best Foundation Student
Hjun Yu Kim (Daniella) from Korea - Best Art & Design Foundation Student
Jingyuan Pan (Hayley) from China - Best Business Foundation Student
Kai Ying Kong (Cherrine) from Malaysia - Best Engineering Foundation Student
Michael Korchagin from Ukraine - Best English Foundation Student
Alexandr Goncharov from Kazakhstan - Best IT Foundation Student
Kateryna Lazoryshynets from Ukraine - Best Humanities Foundation Student
Vytaute Granaveckaite (Shadow) from Lithuania - Most Active Participation & Contribution to Class Discussion, Humanities
Chisanga Mwila from Zambia - Best Law Foundation Student
Man Nga Cheung from Hong Kong - Best Science Foundation Student
Yoonsuk Jung (Tio) from Korea - Best Maths Foundation Student
Dinara Abyova from Kazakhstan - Most Improved Foundation Student
Read more about the Foundation programme
See more Foundation Award ceremony photos on Flickr
The Bellerbys Brighton GCSE Class of 2009 Graduate!
The celebration of the achievements of the Bellerbys Brighton GCSE students was a happy occasion with no fewer that 16 awards for students who have worked hard to be ready for examinations after only eight months of study, and in a second language.
Pictured right is with Principal, Nigel Addison, is Ngoc Quy Nguyen winner of both the Best GCSE Student 2009 Award and the GCSE Mathematics Award. Other award winners included:
Albina Utarova from Kazakhstan - Award for Outstanding Effort
Xinhui Wu from China - Best Pre-GCSE Student
Chi Chong Hong from Hong Kong - Best GCSE Progress Award
Pavel Zotov from Russia - Best January Start Student
Wenyu Peng from China - January Start Progress Award
Do Thi Nguyen fromVietnam - GCSE English Award
Dmitry Kudelya from Russia - GCSE Science Award
Simonas Sniuksta from Lithuania - GCSE Economics Award
Jialing Xie from China - GCSE Art Award
Aleksandra Kononenko from Russia - GCSE Business Award
Vlada Lantukh from Ukraine - GCSE Endeavour Award
Vladyslav Gurov from Ukraine - GCSE Endeavour Award
Qian Yi Kong from China - GCSE Endeavour Award
Dinara Kussayeva from Kazakhstan - GCSE Endeavour Award
Read more about studying GCSE at Bellerbys
Bellerbys Brighton has the X Factor
Bellerbys Brighton recently held a competition, as a means of selecting student performers for the College's Summer Ball. The format of the competition imitated the "X Factor" with four judges (comprised of school staff) assessing and helping to select the winners.
The students' performances where a mix of singing, dancing and playing of musical instruments. In addition to selecting performers, the competition was a great opportunity for demonstrating the range of talent in the school, which we are truly proud of.
There are presently plans for another event like this in the coming term, to give the new students a chance to show their skills and talents.
See more pictures of the event at Facebook
Anara is the 2009 Richard Ryde Scholarship Candidate for Bellerbys Brighton
Each year, the best AS student from each Bellerbys school is invited to apply for the Richard Ryde Scholarship. The four students are then interviewed by the Principals of each of the schools along with James Pitman, the UK Managing Director. They are asked questions about their academic background, academic plans for the future, their extracurricular interests and their views about studying in the UK. The successful student is awarded free tuition for their second year of study at Bellerbys worth over £17,000.
This year's candidate from Bellerbys Brighton was Anara Salykhova from Almaty, Kazakshtan.
Anara is following a 6 term A Level course and studying five subjects: Accounts, Economics, Maths, Further Maths and Politics. Prior to studying at Bellerbys she completed High School in Kazakhstan with a gold medal.
During her course she has maintained A grades in all homeworks and tests despite the fact that she is studying a more demanding programme than most students. She has also achieved 7.5 in the IELTS examination whilst here. Teachers note that she has a quick understanding and the utmost diligence in her approach to her studies. Her work is beautifully presented, thorough and shows excellent analytical skills.
She is currently a member of the college debating society and attends the weekly introduction to Philosophy seminars and Italian classes. Anara is also an accomplished pianist who has studied the piano for seven years and enjoys playing music by composers such as Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. In her spare time she plays badminton.
Anara is thoroughly enjoying her studies at Bellerbys as the atmosphere is conducive to learning and she feels she has developed her confidence whilst here.
In September, she will be applying to Cambridge University to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Another highly ambitious, clever and dedicated student from Bellerbys Brighton!
Find out more about studying A Levels at Bellerbys
Top 2007 A Level Student Tells of Hopes to Set Up University in Kazakhstan
Ilyas Issatayev who left Bellerbys Brighton in 2007 with 6 A grade A Levels and is now in his second year at the LSE returned to the college in March to meet up with his former teachers and friends. He expressed a noble ambition - to set up a really good university in
Kazakshtan!
It is his dream to see a world class Business School in Almaty where he would teach Economics and his friends, currently at universities such as Cambridge and UCL, would teach other subjects. He sees it as a charity project which would provide the very best education for anyone who was good enough - tuition would be free!
The university would help to provide a cohort of young men and women who would contribute to the development of his beloved home country. In the meantime he has to finish his degree and establish himself in his career.
Former A Level Student, Now a Doctor, Visits Bellerbys Brighton 10 Years On
Dr Shamini Devi paid a visit to Bellerbys Brighton recently, ten years after successfully completing her A Level course at the college.
Shamini has wonderful memories of her year spent in Brighton, especially of her outstanding teachers, Dr. Ken Butcher (pictured far right), Helen Haines, Dr. John Baker and Eric Schneidhoffer. Although highly impressed by Bellerbys magnificent new college building she has fond memories of the old buildings in Cromwell Road with their charming gardens where she used to make daisy chains inbetween classes!
Since leaving Bellerbys Shamini has been working at a hospital in Malaysia and has now moved to live in Chatham, Kent. She is still in touch with friends from her college days and even her host family! Shamini observed: 'They were lovely people who provided an excellent vegetarian diet! Bellerbys gave me a chance to succeed and I will always be grateful for that - especially now I am working in such a rewarding profession!'
Find out about the A Level course
Former Students Agree That Bellerbys is Best!
Two former students, Dieu Hiew Nguyen and Thu Phuong Dang, returned to visit Bellerbys Brighton after two terms at university and both agreed that, 'Bellerbys is the best!'
When asked why by Peter Corcut, the Vice Principal, they replied:
Phuong: 'People here are very friendly - students and teachers - everyone. When you
go to school it feels like going home! The teaching is better than at university because it is
detailed and thorough and the student feels closer to the teacher.'
Dieu: 'The college is close to the city centre and the beach so that after working hard all day and enjoying your studies you can go for a walk by the sea with your friends and chat and have fun. The time at Bellerbys was the happiest time of our lives!'
Dieu is stuydying Economics and Management at Bristol University and Phuong is studying Accounting and Finance at University of Warwick. Both are from Hanoi in Vietnam and say they like Brighton as much as Hanoi.
As well as maintaining exceptionally high academic standards Brighton is obviously the place to be if you want to enjoy life!
International Cultural Evening
On March 18, Bellerbys College Brighton held an International Cultural Evening - for the second time at the new Study Centre building in central Brighton. The evening gives students the opportunity to share, experience and enjoy each others' cultural traditions.
The attendance was phenomenal with over 300 students enjoying the twelve stands which represented different countries such as Kazakhstan, Turkey, Colombia, Mongolia, China, Iran, Nigeria and many more.
Stands featured instruments, postcards, books, posters, different types of tea, some food delicacies and students even wore national costumes.
Fi Orando and Tati Pava, the party organisers, were delighted to see such a fantastic turn out and have some fantastic photos taken by the students to show off the atmosphere of this great event.
See more of the pictures at the Bellerbys Brighton Facebook group.
You can read more about this event and what it's like to study at Bellerbys College at our new Studying At Bellerbys College blog, which is written by two of our teachers.
28 Brighton Students Are Awarded Certificates in National Maths Contest
In November 2008, a group of Bellerbys Brighton A Level and Foundation students took part
in the UKMT Maths Challenge, administered by The UK Mathematics Trust.
These interesting and challenging tests of reasoning and mental agility are designed be taken without any special preparation. There are 25 multiple-choice questions and of these, the
first 15 are more accessible whilst the final ten will provide more food for thought. Gold, silver and bronze certificates are awarded to the top contestants. For an hour and a half all that could be heard was the sound of pencil on paper and of deep concentration!
The first question on the paper was reassuringly straightforward:
Q. “What is the value of 2x2008+2008x8?”
A. a) 4016 b) 16064 c) 20080 d) 64256 e) 80020
But by question 25 everything was considerably more demanding:
Q. "What is the area of the polygon formed by all points (x,y) in the plane satisfying the inequality ||x| - 2| + ||y| - 2| < 4?"
A. a) 24 b) 32 c) 64 d) 96 e) 112
(For those of us who are mathematically challenged the answers are: 1 c, 2 b!)
When the results were announced three weeks later 28 students were delighted to find that they had been awarded Gold Certificates, 9 had achieved Silver and 14 Bronze – a 62% success rate against the national average of 40%! The top student was Shoucheng Liu.
The certificates were presented to the following students by Nigel Addison, the College Principal, on Friday 6 March.
Gold Award Winners: Wei Chen, Alena Denisova, Qin Hao Feng, Tuan Anh Ha, Xuan Son La, Thi Thanh Tam Le, Cheng Cheng Li, Shoucheng Liu, Xinyun Liu, Xuewen Liu, Ken Hei Lo, Jiahua Lu, Hong Quang Nguyen, Anton Ozornin, Thi Thu Nga Pham, Thanh Phong Phan, Zhiwei Qui, Bexultan Seisembayev, Jiansheng Shen, Nanxi Tong, Anh Tu Trinh, Huan Wang, Siu Lun Wong, Zheng Wu, Chenhao Ye, Nina Ye, Shuting Zhang & Xin Yi Zheng
Silver Award Winners: Thi Kim Trang Bui, Siu Yan Chiang, Yanhan Huang, Miras Ibraimov, Jun Hao Li, Yuting Liu, Turebek Mutashev, Sanzhar Ospanov & Chui Yan Wang
Bronze Award Winners: Chung Wai Chan, Hao Chen, Ka Ki Cheung, Oyun Erdene Ganbayar, Ling Yan Kong, Pakin Kuakpetoon, Maxim Pauk, Hieu Khac Phan, Ekaterina Omanenko, Anara Salykhova, Ronald Tai, Chao Wang & Jia Wei Wei.
Congratulations to all students!
The Art Department Visit The British Museum and Tate Britain
Given that it was a wet and windy start to the day, I'm not sure what I was thinking when I decided to cycle to school but what did it matter as on meeting all the students of the Art department we were soon on a coach taking us to the British Museum. We had come specifically to look at the Statuefillia Exhibition, which comprises of five pieces of contemporary art set amongst the ancient permanent collections. All the students had their little sketchbooks with them and spent time taking photographs and making sketches of what they saw and liked. A few students were captivated by the Egyptian art on display.
After about an hour we all got back onto the coach and headed over to the Tate Britain, which is the national gallery of British art. It is one of the family of four Tate galleries which display selections from the Tate Collection. The other three galleries are Tate Modern, also in London, Tate Liverpool, in the north-west, and Tate St Ives, in Cornwall, in the south-west. The entire Tate Collection is available online.
Tate Britain is the world centre for the understanding and enjoyment of British art and works actively to promote interest in British art internationally. The displays at Tate Britain call on the greatest collection of British art in the world to present an unrivalled picture of the development of art in Britain from the time of the Tudor monarchs in the sixteenth century, to the present day."
The Tate Britain had a retrospective of the work of the British Painter, Francis Bacon which we had come to see. The group observed this exhibition and then followed through to the permanent collection. All in all it was a very inspirational day for everyone and an imperative eye opener to some students that had been learning about Abstract Expressionism.
We returned to Brighton for about 8pm and all scurried home out of the cold, I personally was craving some hot food and a cup of hot chocolate to warm myself up and think about all the impressive artwork that we had seen that day.
By Tess Zahn, Photography tutor
Read more about the activities and events at Bellerbys Brighton
Bellerbys Christmas Recital
The Bellerbys Brighton Christmas Recital took place on Wednesday 3rd December. Students from Vietnam, Hong Kong, China and Indonesia all took part, with Dr Cheng and Carol Alderson performing a wonderful recorder duet. Other performances included piano solos, guitar solos and singing.
The audience, including Mr Corcut, enthusiastically joined in to sing Christmas songs such as “Jingle Bells” and “We wish you a Merry Christmas”.
Thank you to everyone who took part!
Bellerbys Brighton Students Bring Seasonal Joy To the Community
Bellerbys Brighton was approached by Coldean Community Café (via the Brighton & Hove Voluntary Association) to provide some musicians for a Tea Dance to be held for the elderly residents of Coldean in Brighton. The volunteers included Trytia Atmaja, Hong Quang Nguyen, Sasha Smirnova, Tatiana Iancioglo, Tatyana Babaskina and Chui Fan Lam who are very talented musicians; pianists, violinists, singers and guitar players amongst them.
The elderly residents of the community were very impressed by the amazing abilities of all the Bellerbys students who took part and thoroughly enjoyed all the music. The musicians were provided with refreshments (prepared by local community volunteers) in the café which had been decorated with balloons. The Tea Dance lasted for two hours, after which requests were made for a follow up 
performance!
In recognition of the students’ contribution a donation of £200 was made by The Trust for Developing Communities (TDC) which provides some funding for the Coldean Community Café. The TDC aims to encourage elderly people who may feel isolated in their homes to take part in events in the local community. The £200 has been added to Study Group’s Building Futures fund and will help towards the next project of building a new school in China.
Read more about activities at Bellerbys Brighton
Bellerbys Brighton Welcomes Chinese Embassy Minister
Staff and students were delighted to welcome Mr Xiaogang Tian, Minister Counsellor for Education of the People's Republic of China's Embassy, to Bellerbys Brighton on Wednesday 26th November.
During his visit, Mr Tian, pictured right with some Chinese students at Bellerbys Brighton, took a tour of the new building, sat in on an Economics lesson conducted using an interactive whiteboard and enjoyed lunch with staff and students.
The aim of Mr Tian’s visit is to promote UK education and cultural exchanges between the teachers and students, strengthen the understanding of the UK culture and make contributions to the continuous development of the friendship between the two peoples.
See more photos on the Bellerbys Brighton Flickr page
A Level Scholarship Winners Are Welcomed to the College
Tuesday 16th September 2008 was an auspicious day for 15 students who had recently started their A Level course at Bellerbys College Brighton.
In the glittering surroundings of the new Exam Hall in the College they were presented with certificates by the College Principal, Mr Nigel Addison, in recognition of being awarded scholarships for their studies. These scholarships recognise academic achievement and are only granted after an interview with a Bellerbys Regional Officer in their home country before they come to the college.
Mr Addison welcomed the students and expressed his pleasure in seeing students coming
from a number of different countries to take advantage of the education that Bellerbys has to offer. 'Remember that winning a scholarship is both a privilege and a responsibility', he said. 'We will expect you take a lead academically and in other ways and to set an example to 
other students by your dedication and determination to succeed.'
Vice Principal, Peter Corcut, the Manager of the A Level Programme in Brighton also spoke
to the students; 'Scholarship students have featured regularly in our top student list, including one this year who is now studying Engineering at Cambridge, and we hope that you too will
do the same.'
Congratulations to Thi Kim Trang Bui, Hong Quang Nguyen, Thi Thu Nga Pham, Hieu Khac Phan & Thanh Phong Phan from Vietnam, Anton Ozornin, Ekaterina Romanenko, Kristina Kolotova, Regina Gabotiva & Ekaterina Berezhnova from Russia, Qin Hao Feng, Huan Wang & Jia Wei Wei from China and Siti Amirah Marzuki from Malaysia.
Read more about the A Level course
43 Universities Attend the Bellerbys Higher Education Fair
Each September, Bellerbys College holds a special Higher Education Fair for its A Level and Foundation students. The Fair, which is attended by representatives of many UK universities, is a great opportunity for students to make direct contact with the universities that they are thinking of applying to for entry the following year.
This September, students from all Bellerbys centres gathered for the Fair in the Exam Hall at the new Brighton Study Centre.
Meeting lots of universities en masse and in a short period of time, and comparing their strengths and weaknesses, helps students to make their UCAS (the UK's official university application organisation) choices.
The students are always well-prepared by their Programme Managers so they know which questions to ask. It enables them to make personal contact with universities to pick up more specific details about the range of courses offered, their specialisms, their location, where they might sit in various league tables, the social and housing facilities available, links to business, professions and enterprise, research facilities, entry standards, support for international students, transport facilities and more!
It also encourages students to start taking responsibility for their own progression in terms of which academic course or profession they are most interested in - and allows them to look at the wide range of alternative choices available to them. This year 43 universities, listed below, attended the Fair giving students lots of options.
Aberystwyth, Anglia Ruskin, Aston, Bangor, Bradford, Brighton, Bristol, Buckingham, Cardiff, City, De Montfort, East London, Essex, Goldsmiths, Hertfordshire, Keele, Kent, Kingston, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores, London Metropolitan, London South Bank, Loughborough, Manchester, Middlesex, Newcastle, Northumbria, Nottingham, Oxford Brookes, Portsmouth, Queen Mary, Reading, Roehampton, Royal Holloway, Sheffield, Southampton, Surrey, Sussex, Swansea, York.
Read more about the Bellerbys A Level and Foundation courses
Brighton GCSE Students Receive Special Commendation From Exam Boards
Four Bellerbys Brighton GCSE students have been given an unprecedented special commendation from the examination board for being in the top ten in their subjects for the entire examination entry.
Ekaterina Romanenko and Kristina Kolotova, both from Russia, had recognition for their English, Akinyet Baimakhanova from Kazakhstan, had commendations both in Art and Design and Economics for being in the top ten in both subjects and Anna Samygina, pictured right, also from Russia, received the same in Art and Design, being in the top ten out of 909 candidates.
All these students have moved onto A Level courses in Brighton. Congratulations to all, especially Ekaterina and Kristina who were awarded scholarships towards their further studies at Bellerbys.
Happy Returns for Bellerbys Brighton Graduates
Three former students came back to Brighton to see the new building for themselves, having finished their university exams at Oxford and Cambridge.
Hui Yi Lim, from Brunei, now at Cambridge University studying Economics, described the building as 'wonderful' and she hopes her younger sister will be able to join the college in a few year's time.
Abigail Guillermo, from the Philippines, who is now at Oxford University studying Chemistry, was delighted by the magnificent views from the upper floors plus the amount of space available and the up-to-date equipment in the laboratories and computing rooms. The same feelings were expressed by Hong Sheng Lim from Malaysia, now studying Natural Science at Cambridge University.
Like most students who come back to Brighton there is no doubt that these three miss the excitement and vibrancy of the city, the sea and the camaraderie of life at Bellerbys. Truly, for them this was a happy return.
Jessica Wins The Bellerbys Brighton Principal's Award 2008
Jessica Kwannandar, 18, from Indonesia was presented with the Principal's Award at Bellerbys Brighton last month by the Principal Mr. Nigel Addison and members of the senior staff. She has been an outstanding student academically and has won a conditional place at Imperial College, London, to study Chemical Engineering.
During her two year A level course at Bellerbys Jessica has been a very keen member of the music club and has sung beautiful solos at the May Ball, Christmas concerts and on other memorable occasions. Although she hopes for a career in Engineering, music is her first love.
She has also won numerous prizes during her academic career including Best AS Maths student at Bellerbys.
"This is a great surprise and I feel honoured to receive it - I have really loved my time at Bellerbys and I am sorry it is coming to an end," commented Jessica on receiving the award.
"We think Jessica will go on to have a glittering career in Engineering - we have very much enjoyed teaching her and we wish her all the best in the future', said Mr. Addison.
From Hanoi to Brighton to Loughborough to Sussex to Brighton!
Le Long from Hanoi, pictured right with Mr Alan Beer, achieved a Distinction on the Business Foundation course at Brighton in 2003. He went on to Loughborough University to study for a degree in Information Management and Business Studies, where he achieved a 2:1, and then to Sussex University to study for a Masters in International Management.
Recently he called in to the Bellerbys Brighton Study Centre to meet up with the Foundation Programme Manager, Alan Beer, who he met at the beginning of his studies in the UK.
'Long was an excellent student whilst here,' said Mr. Beer, 'and I am most pleased he has been so successful - we always thought he would be!'
Long was so impressed by his teachers and the course that he brought his friend Dinh Mi to see the college and to discuss coming to the college to study in preparation for a degree course in Accounting and Finance. Long's view was that, 'The teachers were so friendly, helpful and knowledgeable at Bellerbys! They were always there for me.'
Long hopes to work in a Vietnamese company when he has finished his Master's degree.
Read more about the Foundation course
Recent Student Activities at Bellerbys Brighton
Student clubs at Bellerbys Brighton have been as active as ever and making the most of the new facilities at the Brighton Study Centre, including a large lecture hall which can be used for sporting, music and cultural events.
Music Club
The Music Club saw some of first-class performances this academic year, including Kazakh national dancing from Assel Izbassarkyzy; Lin Ka Shing and Yuliya Liem on the piano; Jessica Kwannadar and Bambang Trytia Atmaja who both sang; Arthini Mohd Shan and Mandy Lin Meng Wen on strings and some excellent jazz from Irene Mwesiga on saxophone.
The Music Club also performed extremely well at the opening ceremony of the college earlier in the year. In particular, Brian Lin Ka Shing and Joy Zhao Yi who were accompanied by two members of staff: Derek McAless on classical guitar and Carol Alderson on recorder.
United Nations Society
The United Nations Society continues to be the driving force in academic activities outside the classroom. One of group's main activities are debates about current and ethical issues. Recent topics have included 'Is immigration a good thing?' and 'Is it ok to tell a lie?'
Once a month the Association links up with the Brighton Salon to run debates within the college which are open to the public. Recently we enjoyed a debate entitled 'Nuclear fusion - cheap energy for the future'. This was included as part of the Brighton Science Festival and we were pleased to welcome to the college Prof Gordon MacKerron of the Science Policy Research Unit, Prof Bob Bingham of the High-Power Laser Research Facility and Joe Kaplinsky, author of the book, 'Energise'.
A debate entited, 'Should artists be free?' led by Time Out journalist JJ Charlesworth, was held as part of the Brighton Festival, the world's second largest arts festival in the world. Finally, we were treated to a debate called 'Material Girl - is it better to be rich or happy?' led by Financial Times journalist, Daniel Ben-Ami.
Bellerbys Football Cup
This year's annual football competition, the Bellerbys Cup, featured 11 teams from across all programmes from Bellerbys College and Embassy CES. The tournament was expertly refereed by John Gardiner before a crowd of around 150 spectators.
The final was keenly contested between 'The Pensioners' and 'Ahmed AFC', who won the tight game 4-3. The eventual winners played the staff who were very sporting, allowing the students another victory! The winning team was captained by Ahmed Sukeiman and included Anzor Sakhtarov, George Gogua, Iraqli Morgoshia and Courage Ekueku.
Read more about activities at Bellerbys Brighton
Bellerbys Brighton GCSE Award Winners 2008
A special ceremony was held recently to present awards to students graduating from GCSE courses. Top students include:
Ekaterina Romanenko from Russia - Best GCSE Student 2008
Tsz Yin Wong from Macau - GCSE English Student of 2008
Kristina Kolotova from Russia - GCSE Business Studies Student of 2008
Anna Samygina from Russia - GCSE Art Student of 2008
Adam Khamidov from Russia - Progress Award for GCSE Student of 2008
Anastasia Monogarova from Russia - Best Pre-GCSE Student 2008
Akinyet Baimakhanova from Kazakhstan - Endeavor Award
Hei Hung Chan from Hong Kong - Endeavor Award
Xinxi Du from China - Endeavor Award
Inzhu Ykymzhanova from Kazakhstan - Endeavor Award
After a well deserved summer break we'll welcome many of these students back to Bellerbys in September to start Foundation or A Level courses. See you then!
See more photos from the ceremony on the Bellerbys College Flickr pages
Brighton Foundation Award Winners 2008
Aya Sadayuki from Japan - Best Business Foundation Student
Sau Ching (Steve) Lee from Hong Kong - Best Engineering Foundation Student
Yuen Tung (Mandy) Fong from Hong Kong - Best English Foundation Student
Mario Ernesto Escorcio Gomes from Angola - Best IT Foundation Student
Hoi Lam (Karen) Cheng from Britain - Best Humanities Foundation Student
Yin Chun (Terry) Wong from Hong Kong - Best Law Foundation Student
Katerina Siakka from Cyprus - Best Science Foundation Student
Yong Tong (Kristol) Guo from China - Most Improved Foundation Student
Habeeb Alao from Nigeria - Best Overall Contribution to the Foundation Programme
Ka Shing (Brian) Lin from Hong Kong - Best Foundation Student
John (Toks) Fatona from Nigeria - Most Active Participation and Contribution to Class Discussion, Humanities
19 students also were presented with awards for 'Contribution to the Foundation Programme'.
See more photographs of graduating Foundation students on our Flickr page
Bellerbys Brighton A Level Graduation Ceremony 2008
The annual A Level Graduation Ceremony was held in the Hall at Bellerbys Brighton at the
end of May. Principal, Nigel Addison, presented awards for the best students to:
Saman Alavifard from Iran - Best A2 Level Student competing in June
Zhibo Wang from China - Best AS Level Student
Jia Rong Chang from Malaysia - Best A2 Level Student, Science
Xiyin Li from China - Best AS Level Student, Science
Kirill Veretinsky from Russia - Best A2 Level Student, Business
Nanxi Tong from China - Best AS Level Student, Business
Zhi Yuan Ivan Ann from Singapore - Best A2 Level Student, Humanities
Yuliya Suleyeva from Belarus - Best AS Level Student, Humanities
Alexandros Morochovski from Ukraine - Best A2 Level Student, Mathematics
Yu Chen from China - Best AS Level Student, Mathematics
Li Zhou from China - Best A2 Level Student, Art & Design
Thanh Hang Diep from Vietnam - Best AS Level Student, Art & Design
Alexandra Smirnova from Russia - Best A Level Student, English
Fatema Salimi from Iran - Library Award
Jessica Julia Kwannandar from Indonesia - The Principal's Award
Ksenia Rotislavleva from Russia - Richard Ryde Memorial Award
See more photographs from the ceremony on the Bellerbys Flickr page
Hollywood Theme for Brighton May Ball
Friday 30th May saw the red carpet rolled out, gold banners hung from the stairways and arrangements of beautiful red roses throughout the foyer. For one night only, the college was transformed into a glamorous Hollywood party for the May Ball.
Each year, graduating and continuing students, along with teachers and other members of staff, come together in their best outfits to celebrate nearing the end of the academic year. The May Ball is a night to forget about exams, get dressed up and have fun.
On arrival, a red carpet led guests into the building where they were handed ice creams. After a welcome drink, guests enjoyed American diner style food cooked on a large barbeque and served in the garden.
Many students took lots of photographs of their friends and their favourite members of staff
to remind them of their days at Bellerbys Brighton.
There were lots of entertainment options. A live band played in the Student Common Room,
a disco and student cabaret took place in the Hall and films were shown in the Library.
Good fun was had by all at the first ever May Ball in the new college building.
38 Brighton Students Receive Conditional Offers from Top 7 UK Universities
Once again, many Bellerbys Brighton A Level students have been offered conditional places at some of the UK's top universities. Seven students have conditional offers for Warwick University (ranked 7th in the UK by The Times), 11 for University College London (ranked 6th), seven for London School of Economics (ranked 4th), 11 for Imperial College (ranked 3rd) and two for Cambridge University (ranked 2nd).
Saman Alavifard, 19, from Tehran, is one of our first Iranian students to win an offer from Cambridge University.
Saman joined us here at Bellerbys Brighton in June 2005 on an English Language Preparation course. He then progressed onto the three-term GCSE course which he completed in June 2006 with excellent grades - A* in Maths, Physics and Information Technology, A grades in Chemistry and Economics and a B grade in English.
He was awarded a partial scholarship to continue on the six-term A Level course which he began in September 2007. Saman achieved A grades in AS Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry and is also now studying AS English Literature. He will take his final A Level exams in the coming weeks.
We are delighted that Saman has ended his journey with Bellerbys with a conditional offer from Churchill College, University of Cambridge to study Engineering in September.
Brighton Student Receives Bursary from Cambridge University
Bo Wen Wang, 19, from Dalian, China, has received a Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Bursary from Cambridge University to help him with his degree level studies in Engineering.
Bo Wen who will complete his A level course at Bellerbys Brighton in June has a conditional offer from Homerton College, Cambridge University, and needs to achieve A grades in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry to confirm his place.
Bo Wen has particular admiration for the intelligence, patience and kindness of Dr. Butcher, his Further Maths teacher and he has found the teaching at Bellerbys overall to be 'great'.
During his two year A Level course he has stayed with a charming host family in Hove whom he now regards as friends, whose cooking is excellent - mainly English menus - so high praise from a Chinese student!
Working as a volunteer at the British Heart Foundation charity shop in Hove in his spare time was a memorable experience for him as he learnt a great deal about the generosity of the natives of Brighton and Hove! He also is an expert calligrapher and enjoys playing pop music on the guitar.
The Vice Principal, Peter Corcut commented, 'Bo Wen has been an excellent student who combines the qualities of dedication, intellectual gifts and modesty! We hope he achieves the grades he needs and goes on to have a sparkling academic career at Cambridge!'
Top A Level Student is Awarded the Richard Ryde Memorial Prize
Staff at Bellerbys Brighton were delighted when Ksenia Rostislaleva was awarded the Richard Ryde Memorial Prize for 2008-2009. This means that she will have a full tuition scholarship
for the second year of her A Level course. The prize is given to the best student, academically and in co-curricular activities, of the four Bellerbys Colleges after interviews
with all candidates.
Ksenia's reaction was: 'I was really surprised and of course both proud and happy - my parents told me that I must be even cleverer than they had thought!'
Ksenia has already had an outstanding career at Bellerbys Brighton as she was the best student at GCSE level gaining 7A*s and 1 A grade after a one year course.
She is predicted to achieve A grades in AS Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and French when she takes the exams in June 2008.
Her ambition is to become a Bio-Chemist as she finds science fascinating and wants to make her own contribution to the development of science which she sees as a tremendous force for good in the world.
Ksenia is a keen and highly articulate member of the Oxbridge group of students at Brighton, having given highly successful talks on 'Genetic Modification' and on Steve Jones' book 'The Language of Genes.'
In addition to being a top academic student who aspires to go to Cambridge, Ksenia is a member of the small group of students on the Comenius project which involves her representing the College on a visit to Bari, Italy. She mixed with students from other schools in Europe and worked on charity projects.
She is also a writer for the Bellerbys student blog, a member of the Debating Society and is working as a volunteer for the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).
'We are lucky to have such a talented, enthusiastic and dedicated student studying here,' commented the Principal of Bellerbys Brighton, Mr. Nigel Addison.
Brighton Students Finish 11th in a Nationwide Investment Competition
A team from Bellerbys Brighton last month finished 11th out of 8,000 entrants in a UK wide investment game for students, the Student Portfolio Challenge 2007/8. This is a remarkable achievement.
The group named Glitter, assisted by their teacher, Duncan Stringer, managed to turn a virtual portfolio of £96,000 into £215,700 in just three months. This is especially impressive given the recent falling stock markets across the world.
All students are studying A Levels at Bellerbys Brighton and are captained by Wang Li (Lily), who is obviously highly talented in this field and wishes to pursue a career in Financial Engineering. Her team mates are Ying Peng (Leo), Yu Qi Zhu (Peter) and Liu Lindi (Lindy).
Glitter will now progress to the Regional Finals in London on 19th March. The top prize for the winning team is a trip to Wall Street, New York, plus prize money for both the group and their school. We wish them the very best of luck!
Official Brighton Study Centre Launch Ceremony
The official launch ceremony of the new Bellerbys Brighton Study Centre took place on Tuesday 12th February 2008. Invited guests included Lord Tomlinson, Chairman of the Association of Independent Higher Education Providers, of which Bellerbys was the founding member, and the Mayor of Brighton & Hove.
The event began with tours of the building for our guests followed by speeches in the Examinations Hall by Lord Tomlinson and Heith Mackay-Cruise, CEO of Study Group.
A plaque to celebrate the event was then unveiled by four students, including Iliyas Issatayev from Kazakhstan, our top performing A Level student in 2007. Iliyas achieved an outstanding six A Levels at grade A and is now studying at London School of Economics.
Following the unveiling, drinks and canapés were then served in the atrium whilst students and staff entertained the guests.
Brian Lin Ka Shing and Joy Yi Zhao (pictured right wth Michael Cornes, Operations Director of Study Group UK) both performed Beethoven sonatas. Brian performed the 'Pathetique' with all the revolutionary verve and passion that Beethoven intended when he wrote the piece and Joy played the 'Moonlight Sonata' with the gentle wistfulness expected of a romantic a few days before Valentine's.
The other performers at the Opening Ceremony included teachers Derek McAleese who performed a stunning range of classical Spanish guitar pieces, Carol Alderson who accompanied Brian on 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow'; Assa from Kazakhstan who performed a Kazakh national dance - Assa has performed with the Kazakh National Dance Troupe; the College Rock Band (who don't have a name yet) and Anna who closed the show with a wonderful medley of hits from Pink.
Maths Magic!
Bellerbys' Brighton students won no less than 25 Gold, 15 Silver and 12 Bronze certificates in the UK Maths Trust Senior Maths challenge in November 2007, whose results have recently been announced.
Jun Chen, 17, from Foshan City, China, was the top student who answered all 25 mind numbing questions within the time set. 'I'm so happy with my result,' commented Jun, who is aiming to study Biomedical Science at Imperial College, London, when she has completed her A level course in Brighton.
Dick Dixon, Head of Maths, noted, 'Once again our students have done us proud - we have some excellent mathematicians here and they seem to get better every year!'
Music Club Visit Romania Thanks to the EU Comenius Project
The Bellerbys Brighton Music Club this year visited Baia Mare in Transylvania, Romania. The trip was funded by the EU's Comenius project and the Music Club performed in the Muramares National Theatre before an audience of five hundred, including the local MP and Mayor. The students who performed were Van Anh Pham, Katie Anh, Agnes Wan, Zoey Zhang, Cindy Lu, Fatima Jafarova and Andy Li. Economics Teacher, Andrew Stephenson, accompanied the group. Below, Agnes Wan tells us about their exciting trip.
"To welcome Romania to the European Union, a group of us participated in this event specially organized in Baia Mare, Romania. During this six-day trip we spent three days travelling! The remaining three days recorded our moments of cultural exchange and joyous experience.
We spent the second day settling in our host families and then on day three we went to see the mountains and a traditional Romanian village. We had the chance to watch a wonderful performance by little Romanian children in their traditional costumes. Then we tried an outdoor special lunch in the village and tasted Romanian food like corn and cheese porridge, Romanian doughnuts,and so on.
Day four marked the climax of our trip. We met with teachers and students from Romania and Italy to discuss the future development of the Comenius project. Then we had a quiz on the European Union and luckily our school team came in third! Hurray! The evening programme was superb with performances from all the participating colleges. Everyone was so excited about his or her performance. Our performance included a piano recital, a duet, solo and group singing as well as a belly dance. All our performances were highly appreciated by the audience. We had a small party to celebrate the success of this evening event.
Day five was a day of sightseeing and shopping. We went to the Mineralogy Museum where we were all amazed by the huge range of minerals that Baia Mare has. We did some shopping and bought some Romanian souvenirs to bring back to Brighton. Then we had to say goodbye to the hospitable Romanians and the warmhearted Italians. We parted with dismay but with a wish that we might meet again some time in the future. This was definitely a worthwhile trip giving us unforgettable experiences and exposure, which we would be unable to obtain from books. On behalf of all the participants, let me convey our sincere thanks to our teacher, Mr.Stephenson, who used his valuable time to take us on this much-valued eye-opening trip."
Bellerbys Brighton Students go on to Great Things!
From time to time universities get in touch to tell us about the continuing success of our graduates, below are just a few.
* First Class Honours
** Now studying for a Masters at Cambridge University
Are you a Bellerbys College graduate? Let us know how you are getting on: editor@bellerbys.com
Top Bellerbys Student Acts as an Ambassador for the College
Agnes Wan is having a great year! Agnes was one of our top 10 A Levels students in 2007, achieving outstanding grades (AAAAa) and securing a place at Cambridge University to read Law. She was also awarded the Principal's Prize and gave an excellent speech to her peers at the college graduation ceremony entitled 'All of our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them'.
Surely there could be no better person to act as an ambassador for Bellerbys College in her home country! Just two days after receiving her excellent A Level results Agnes kindly took a day out of her holiday to do just that on the Bellerbys College stand at the UK Education Expo (pictured below, far left). Here she met with prospective students and their parents and told them about her time at Bellerbys College.
Agnes was happy to help parents and students make their decision about where to study. "Last weekend at the UK Education Expo, the Bellerbys College booth attracted a lot of people, both prospective students and parents. I felt so excited explaining to them about the new campus and how they or their children can fit into the learning system provided by the school. They seemed very impressed by the students' results and the modern Brighton centre."
We wish the best of luck to Agnes as she spends her gap year working for a Law firm in Hong Kong. In September 2008 she will then take up her place to study Law at St John's College, University of Cambridge. We are sure that we will hear of her success again in future.
Read what Agnes had to say about her time at Bellerbys
Two Bellerbys Students Achieve Firsts at University of Cambridge
We are delighted to announce that two former Bellerbys Brighton students have achieved
First Class awards on their courses at the University of Cambridge.
Julia Artamonova from Russia, who studied A Levels at Brighton from 2002-2004, has this month been awarded a First Class degree in Economics by Trinity College, University of Cambridge.
Dmitriy Myelnikov from Ukraine, who left Bellerbys last year with five A Levels at grade A,
has achieved First Class in his first year examinations on his Natural Sciences (Biological) degree. Dmitriy, who is studying at Emmanuel College at the University of Cambridge, has also been awarded the College Prize and a Senior Scholarship for his second year of study.
Many congratulations to both students!
Read more about Dmitriy's time at University of Cambridge
New Study Centre Building is Almost Complete!
The new Brighton Study Centre was unveiled last month when the scaffolding and covers
were removed from the outside of the building.
We are happy to report that the building project is running to schedule and the brand-new college and residence will be ready to welcome students during the autumn break in October 2007.
We're also proud to report that the Study Centre will be an environmentally-friendly building, emitting 40% less carbon dioxide than other buildings of a similar size. There will be low energy lighting, high insulation including planted roof areas and a computerised system
which will continually monitor the efficiency of the building and its energy consumption. When the computer detects that a room is empty (through movement and CO2 sensors) the heating or cooling and lighting to that area is reduced or turned off. There will even be bird boxes on the roof to encourage vists from swallows and swifts!
Contact us to find out more about studying at the Study Centre
Find out about courses starting in September
Bellerbys Brighton Awards Ceremony & May Ball 2007
The Bellerbys Brighton Awards Ceremony took place on Friday 1st June. Staff and students alike enjoyed this great formal occasion which recognised the hard work and success of all
the students who were presented with their certificates by the Principal, Nigel Addison.
Prizes for the best students were awarded to:
Agnes Wan from China - Principal's Prize
Huyen Tram Ngo from Vietnam - Best A Level Student
Elizaveta Ermolemko from Russia - Best Foundation Student
Ksenia Rostislaveva from Russia - Best GCSE Student
Dzmitry Hryshkevich from Belarus - Best Degree Level Student
Yang Qinjie from China - Best English Language Preparation Student
Agnes Wan, who won the Principal's Prize and has a conditional offer to study Law at Cambridge University, gave a speech to thank the teachers and all the staff at the college for their excellent teaching, care and guidance during her course, on behalf of all the students.
After the Awards Ceremony, students celebrated their graduation at the May Ball which this year had the theme of 'Arabian Nights'. The Hall was decorated with exotic silks and shapes and Music Society students provided the entertainment. Later in the evening, three brave students - Fatima Jafarova, Yasodhaa Ganesan and Ambika Bhartia, provided an exciting Indian and Arabic dance routine which was much appreciated by the audience.